Best Lawyers in America for Land Use and Zoning Law
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State
Laurence M. Papel is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Finance Law, Corporate Law, Land Use and Zoning Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law and Real Estate Law. Laurence M., who practices law in Nashville, Tennessee, has been recognized since 2007. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Laurence M. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Rikki focuses her practice on representing financial institutions and other clients in their commercial real estate; commercial and community development-related lending activities, including acquisition and construction lending; secured commercial lending; interest rate swaps; and other hedging transactions. In addition, Rikki has represented financial institutions and other clients in restructuring and modifying commercial real estate, construction, and other types of commercial loans, and ...
Derek D. Lick is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Appellate Practice, Commercial Litigation, Land Use and Zoning Law, Litigation - Construction, Litigation - Insurance, Litigation - Land Use and Zoning, Litigation and Controversy - Tax, Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants, Product Liability Litigation - Defendants and Real Estate Law. Derek D., who practices law in Concord, New Hampshire, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an e...
Attorney Studer is a Senior Partner with Berchem Moses PC who practices in the areas of land use and commercial real estate law. He graduated magna cum laude from Stonehill College in 1972 and cum laude from Suffolk University Law School in 1977 where he was a member of the Suffolk University Law Review. Mr. Studer’s practice concentrates on the representation of municipalities and developers in all aspects of the local zoning and land use permitting process, as well as the permitting p...
Calm under pressure, dependable, and a true advocate for her clients, Mary is an experienced municipal and environmental law counselor. Having worked in the public sector for years before joining Bernstein Shur, she has a firsthand understanding of the issues faced by municipal and state employees and boards—and how to help her clients confront them. Her most recent public sector position was associate corporation counsel to the City of Portland, where she advised the city staff and cou...
Michael Bailkin focuses in two value creation areas of real estate: (i) development incentives; and (ii) structuring and helping implement real estate development projects. Development incentives includes a broad range of programs that utilize public sector resources to add value to private projects, including financial supports, EB-5 financing, cost reductions, land use actions and sole source and below market acquisition of land. Structuring real estate projects generally involves taking in...
Mark Bentley practices in the area of land use, eminent domain and property rights. He is a former planning director and has represented numerous private property owners against various governmental condemning authorities in eminent domain matters. He also practices in the areas of administrative law and legal matters. Mark taught land use law as an adjunct professor for the University of South Florida’s Urban and Regional Master’s Degree Program, and now serves on the program&rsq...
Matthew P. Dregne is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Land Use and Zoning Law and Municipal Law. Matthew P., who practices law in Madison, Wisconsin, has been recognized since 2007. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Matthew P. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Crawford McGivaren is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He has been listed in Chambers USA for Commercial Litigation since 2002. He has been listed in the Best Lawyers in America in Business and Personal Injury Litigation since 1989, and is recognized for Antitrust Law, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Professional Malpractice Law and Railroad Law. He has been named by Super Lawyers magazine as one of the top 50 lawyers in the state of Alabama and was listed...
Having worked as an urban planner, as chair of the Portland Zoning Board, and inside state government, Phil is well acquainted with municipal and land use law. That experience, combined with his legal expertise, makes him extremely adept at counseling municipal officials and boards and obtaining land use approvals at local, state, and federal levels for real estate developers and property owners. And he’s just as equipped to help clients with legislative issues: he helped draft and pass...
Experience doesn't make us smarter, but it does steer us to solutions where the less-experienced might only see problems. Experienced land use counsel is particularly critical in California, for it is here that creative "been down this path before" thinking is needed to meet the challenges of an often-daunting convergence of federal, state, and local land use regulation. For more than four decades, Tim's insight has been shaped by work on some of California's most complex entitlement projects...
Alan’s primary practice focus is land use, zoning, real estate and local government law with a particular emphasis on development permitting and related transactions. Alan is a former land use planner for Montana local governments, who combines his professional planning background with his work in land use law to provide clients with a unique blend of practical skills and legal analysis. He is frequently called upon to provide advice to private and government sector clients and has serv...
John Floyd brings considerable experience to his cases with an extensive background in commercial real estate and construction matters, land use and zoning, and complex commercial disputes. John’s clients include commercial real estate developers, private equity firms, manufacturers, international financial institutions, and other large corporations located throughout the United States. Regardless of the subject matter, John takes a practical approach to problem solving and seeks to max...
Ivette P. Alvarado is a Member of the Sills Cummis & Gross Real Estate Department. She focuses her practice on multiple disciplines within commercial real estate law, mainly in New Jersey and New York. Beyond negotiating deals and drafting pertinent documents to memorialize terms, Ms. Alvarado takes a hands-on approach to serving her clients by advising them of potential risks, assisting them in problem solving and coordinating with their other professionals to successfully close deals. M...
Robert C. Jefferson, IV is a senior associate attorney at Gawthrop Greenwood, PC who focuses his practice on municipal government law, as well as land use, land development and zoning. A former Assistant District Attorney, Jefferson spent six years at the Chester County D.A.’s Office prosecuting 19 jury trials and more than 20 bench trials for criminal cases ranging from felonies to misdemeanors. His career in public service, along with experience navigating the adversarial court system...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.